Apparatus for making confectionery



Ju'iy 29,. 1947. I J. J. ALIKONIS 294249959 APPARATUS FOR MAKINGCONFECTIONERY I 7 Filed Feb. 28, 1945 nvmvrolz.

Jaszm J Patented July 29, 1947 I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE"2,424,950 arrsan'rus roa MAKING CONFECTIONERY Justin J. Alikonis,Bloomington, 111., assignor to Paul F. Belch Company, Blooming-ton,111., a corporation of Illinois Application February 28, 1945, SerialNo. 580,175 6 Claims. (Cl. 261-94) 2 This invention relates in generalto an apparafor the corresponding member appearing in the tus for theproduction or processing of confecdisclosure of Fig. 1. tionery or likeproducts in which an aerated. Inmy copending application Serial No.580,174,

frothy or foamy texture is desired. More parfiled concurrently herewith,I illustrate and deticularly the invention relates to a continuous, as 6scribe a method and apparatus for the processdistinguished from a batch,procedure for procing of confectionery and like stock, involving the.essing or manufacturing such products. introduction of air or a similargaseous medium It is a general object of the invention to proandthorough difluslon throughout a mass of convide a continuously operableapparatus of the fectionery stock prior to and during an operation typedescribed wherein desired qualities of foam- 01 heating or agitating thelatter. iness and frothiness may be imparted to the prod- The presentinvention differs from the above not by a single operation of difiusionof the candy in that its basic concept involves the diffusion or likestock admixed with a gas through a suitof both the gaseous medium andthe mass of conable medium, the only subsequent steps being ,fectionerystock throughaporous mechanical difthose of discharging a mass of thediffused stock fusing agent, whereby intimate difiusion of miland, ifdesired, molding the same in appropriate lions of air globules orbubbles throughout the sizes and shapes. mass of the stock is efiectedin a single, con- A further object is to provide an apparatus of tinuousoperation. Hence the manufacturing the type described in which the massof stock is time is substantially reduced as compared topresautomatically guarded against overheating durently practiced batchprocedures involving a ing processing, with consequent elimination ofbeating operation. the possibility of destructive results attendingReferring to the drawings, in Fig. 1 I illustrate overheating.conventionally a system or apparatus for per- A still further object isto provide an apparatus forming the method of the Pr n invent onin whichthe overall time for producing confec- The reference numeral I 0 in thisfigure desigtions of the type described is greatly reduced. nates adiffuser from which the finally processed Yet another object is toprovide an apparatus pr duct r mass f st k is dis a d. di a l for theabove purposes which is easily cleaned and but not always. to mol ingmeans (not shown). maintained in hygienic condition. 7 The diffuserchosen for illustration, a type with A still further object is toprovide an apparawhich I have achieved very satisfactory results, tuswhich is well adapted for the production of consists, of a cylindricalchamber II closed a ondifferent qualities or textures of candy productsposite ends by centrally apertured plates or disks of the type underconsideration. I2, one of which has a discharge pipe I3 con- Other morespecific objects and advantages of. nectcd thereto communicating throughthe plate the invention will be apparent to those skilled in ape t re Wih he i ri r 01 t e Chamber. The the art upon afull understanding of theimproved opposite end closure plate I2 has a supp y p pe method andapparatus herein described. I ll disposed in the central aperturethereof and Preferred embodiments of the invention are extending intothe chamber In. presented herein by way of exempliflcation, but it PipeI4 is intended to have a continuously flowwill of course be appreciatedthat the invention ing viscous liquid mass of candy stock and air iscapable of being embodied in various other under pressu pp i d theretrou h and is p structurally modified forms coming equally withforated atI5 internally of the chamber I0 for in the scope of the appended claims.the discharge of said mass of stock and air. Sur- In the drawings, Irounding the pipe I4 and perforations I5 there- Fig. 1 is a fragmentarydiagrammatic or in I provide a diffuser member generally desigschematicview, partially broken away and in lonhated I6. This member consists ofa hollow gitudinal vertical section on a line corresponding cylindricalf am nated diffuser sl ve I1 fa rito line I-'I of Fig. 2, conventionallyillustrating cated of a suitable porous material, preferably a proposedapparatus for performing the operaa ceramic such as aloxite (A1203) orCarboruntions involved in the present invention; dum. This sleeve ischosen in a grade of suitable Fig. 2 is a. view in transverse verticalsection, porosity or permeability to pass radially and difon a linecorresponding to line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and fuse and intermix the viscousliquid mass and Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary views in longituthe airwhich are supplied through pipe I4 and dinal vertical sectionillustrating details of modiperforations I5. The ends of the sleeve I!in fied difiusion members adapted to be substituted the illustrated formare closed by apertured disks is fabricated of a material such as thatdescribed in the form of a flanged cup integrally closed at one end andsecured in place between the cylindrical chamber I l' and the aperturedclosure plate l2 at the supply end of the diffuser.

In Fig. 4 I illustrate a still further modified form of diffuser.designated ll", wherein diffusion is accomplished through a plurality ofdisks I! of the above described porous material disposed end-to-end inthe chamber member H". The disks are of diameter corresponding to theinner diameter of said last named member and held in place therein bywashers of rings 20. The porosity of the respective disks I! may bevaried as described, ranging from coarse to fine, or any desiredselection may be indulged in, either in type of material or quantity ofdisks, depending upon the composition, consistency and pressure of themass of stock charged to the system or the desired texture of the finalproduct.

The liquid mass of confectionery stock is supplied under pressure topipe ll through a conduit 2| communicating said pipe with a centrifugalpump 22. Included in this conduit are a manual control valve, a pressuregauge 24, and a simple one-way flap valve whereby reverse flow of theliquid mass is prevented at this point, This mass of stock may be of anydesired composition (within the limitation to be hereinafter referredto), such as a marshmallow mixture or combinations of ingredients of anydesired heavier bodied product.

The compressed air is supplied by a pipe or conduit 26 to areciprocating plunger and cylinder or other appropriate type aircompressor 2'! adapted to forward the same to the diffuser. From thecompressor 21 the air is discharged to a conduit 28 in which aredisposed a manually controlled valve 29, a pressure gauge 2|, and a flapvalve 3|. Leaving valve ll, which prevents reverse flow at that point,the air joins the liquid in conduit 2| in entering pipe II to thediffuser.

For purpose of illustration, the air 7 pressure may be, say, 60 pounds,it being understood that the air is supplied to pipe ll simultaneouslywith a viscous mass of liquid stock, and the viscous liquid stock may beassumed to be at a temperature of about 120 F. as supplied to thediffuser and at a pressure which will vary in accordance with thedesired rate of production or desired characteristics of texture of the:final product; in any event the pressure on the liquid will be in excessof the air pressurein conduit 28, stated to be about 60 lbs. per sq. in.A preliminary admixture of air and confectionery stock occursimmediately upon impingement of the air and stock, causing the air to bethoroughly distributed in the flowing body of liquid stock, with abeneficial effect on the subsequent operation of dispersion and workingof the air-liquid mixture.

The air and liquid issue from pipe it through perforations IE to theinterior of, thence through, the diffuser sleeve II. In traveling alongpipe l4, and in particular upon emission from perforations iii to theinterior of sleeve IT, a preliminary pro-foaming mixture of the air andviscous stock occurs resulting in globulization of the mass to aconsiderable extent. In passage through said sleeve the air is finelyand copiously 4 diffused in millions of globules throughout the liquidmass so as to saturate and fully aerate the same, while at the same timea very thorough and effective mechanical working and mixing of the massis performed as the same travels through the interstices of the porouselement. Upon emission from said sleeve to the interior of thecylindrical chamber H the stock is in a fluffy, foamy condition andsaturated with air and is discharged from the diffuser through pipe I!in a condition immediately available in many cases for molding. The sameresults occur when the diifuser is constructed as shown in either Fi 3or Fig. 4. The preliminary mixing and distribution of the air throughoutthe mass of liquid, which occurs in pipe ll prior to the above diffusionoperation, has the important effect of preventing furrowing orchanneling of the air through the liquid stock, as might occur if theblast of air were introduced directly at the dispersion zone. This wouldof course destroy all uniformity of dispersion action and, in fact, tendto eliminate the same entirely. However, such tendency is insuredagainst in the preliminary mixing and foaming phase. As a consequence,the liquid issues through the perforations [5 to fill the interior ofthe sleeve H in an already aerated condition having bubbles of airuniformly distributed throughout. Subsequent difiuslon through thesleeve is void of blast effects and uniform working of the entire outputis assured. In the foregoing description I have referred to a mass ofconfectionery stock being fed to the diffuser. In the manufacture ofmarshmallow and similar light bodied products, of specific gravity inthe neighborhood of 0.4 to 0.6, it is satisfactory to employ theapparatus and steps described above in a single operation, whereby allingredients are embodied in the stock charged to the diffuser and thefinished product is ready for molding immediately upon issuing from thedischarge pipe l3. However, in the case of certain other productsofheavier character, it is desirable, due to inherent limitations of thedifi'user material, that the air-liquid diffusion be performed only onthe relatively light bodied ingredients, such as egg albumen or soyaprotein, flavoring, etc., incorporated in said product, or equivalentmore readily diffused materials. Following diffusion the mixed andaerated mass is discharged and then mixed with a pre-cooked portionconsisting of syrup, sugar, gelatinous and/or heavier ingredients. Thisprocedure will ordinarily be followed in processing of nougat, fudge orsimilar confections containing air.

The foregoing method and apparatus are extremely rapid, enabling therapid production of diffused, frothy confectionery and like products ofhigh quality in a continuous operation as distinguished from hithertorelied on batch methods. Moreover, the air-liquid diffusion operation'isself-cooling, i. e., the confectionery stock is prevented fromoverheating by the passage and intermixture of air therein. Hence theproduct will not go flat due to swelling and bursting of air bubbles asa result of overheating. Density'of the product can be controlled easilyby varying the relative proportions of air and liquidat the valves 23,29 and current production needs can be similarly controlled, all withoutloss of free air (air passing through the apparatus without becomingentrained in the confectlonary mass) and without continually samplingthe product and making numerous adjustments.

/ The product of the method is characterized by its uniform foamtexture, which results from the use of .a diffusion medium ofprefabricated, standardized type, as well as by the employment ofcarefully controlled volumes and pressure.

Needless to say, the working time involved in my process is greatlyreduced, compared to existing batch processes. The apparatus required isexceedingly simple and inexpensive and there are no moving parts of anytype employed in the diffusion phase. The apparatus is readily cleanedand maintained in hygienic condition, there being no possibility of theadmission of foreign matter or impurities during the processing. Thediffuser sleeves or elements are readily removable for supplying agaseous medium under pressure,

means for supplying a mass of viscous liquid stock to be processed underpressure, a diffuser communicating with and supplied with said mediumand stock by said means, said respective means for supplying gaseousmedium and stock being operatively connected to one another-to efiectpreliminary admixture of the medium and stock substantitally prior totreatment by said diffuser, said difluser com'prising a rigid porousdiffusion element disposed for passage of said preliminarily treatedmedium and stock therethrough under pressure, to thereby thoroughlyadmix the medium and stock and diffuse the former throughout the latter,and a receiving chamber inspaced relation to said element on the sidethereof opposite that to which the me+ dium and stock are supplied. v

A 2. Apparatus for processing confectionery and like edible stock,comprising the combination {of means for supplying a gaseous mediumunder pressure, means for supplying a mass of viscous liquid stock to beprocessed under pressure, and a diffuser communicating with and suppliedwith said medium and stock by said means, said respective means forsupplying gaseous medium and stock being operatively connected to oneanstock in the form of a multitude f minute globules, said diffusionelement being of uniform thickness in the direction of passage of saidmedium and stock therethrough and/a confining means for supplying agaseous diffusion medium and a viscous liquid stock under pressure, adiffusion member in communication with said supply means, comprising arigid hollow cylindrical diffusion element of porous material ofsubstantial radial thickness, said supply meansforcingsaid medium andstock through said element under pressure whereby to thoroughly intermixthe stock and medium and diffusing the latter.

of minute globules through said difiusionelement, and a confiningchamber surrounding the diffusion member and receiving the diffusedstock therefrom.

5. Apparatus of the type described, comprising means for supplying agaseous diffusion medium and a viscous liquid stock under pressure, adiffusion member in communication with said supply means, comprising arigid disk-like diffusion element of porous material of substantialthickness, saidsupply means forcing saidmedium and stock through saidelement under pressure whereby to for supplying a. gaseous medium underpressure,

other to effect preliminary admixture of the me- I means for supplying agaseous diffusion medium and a viscous liquid stock under pressure, adiffusion member in communication with said supply means, comprising adiffusion element of porous, fused, ceramic material of substantialthickness, said supply means forcing said medium and stock through saidelement under pressure whereby to thoroughly intermix the stock andmedium and diffuse the latter throughout the 7 means for supplying amass of viscous liquid stock to be processed under pressure, a difl'usercom-v municating with and supplied with said medium and stock by saidmeans, said respective means for supplying gaseous medium and stockbeing operatively connected to one another to effect preliminaryadmixture of the medium and stock substantially prior to treatment bysaid diffuser, 4

said diffuser comprising a rigid porous diffusion element disposed forpassage of said preliminarily treated medium and stock therethroughunder pressure, to thereby thoroughly admlx the mediumand stock anddiffuse the former throughout the latter, and means to direct the flowof said mixture issuing from said element.

JUSTIN J. moms.

REFERENCES r CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,979,685 Grindrod Nov, 6, 19341,740,840 Schnabel Dec. 24,1929 1,889,236 Burmeister Nov. 29, 19322,295,740. Keen Sept. 15, 1942, 1,702,526 Steeley Feb. 19, 1929 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 526,145 Great Britain Sept. 11, 1940 340,268Great Britain s Dec. 22,1930

